5 Hacks That Will Help Save on Hotel Bookings

These hacks will help you get the best hotel deals on your next travel.

After airfare, accommodation is what constitutes the major expenditure for a traveller. However, booking a hotel room in a tech-savvy age has its own perks; you just need to know the hacks to save some big bucks. From lowering the nightly rate to avoiding surcharges for WiFi, here’s what to keep in mind the next time you’re booking your hotel room.

Book directly with the hotel

Either go on the hotel’s website or call them up. And make your bookings. Usually, eliminating the middlemen aka the other booking sites (Expedia or Hotels.com), gives you an edge and you land up with better rates. Incase, the rooms are cheaper on the other portals but not on the hotel’s own portal, call the hotel and see if it will honour it. Many chains will not only lower their prices but also throw in extras such as a free night or a gift card for future travel.

Book early

It’s wise to just reserve the best deal you find as soon as you start planning your trip; however, make sure it’s a ‘pay when you arrive’ reservation, and not a non-refundable one. Reserving early typically gets you a good price, though choosing a cancelable booking means you can book something better later on.

Book late

If for some reason you couldn’t booking early, you can get awesome deals on unsold rooms by using last-minute apps such as Booking.com.

Know your days of the week

Usually, business hotels draw a lot of travellers on the weekends at affordable rates because that’s when most of the clientele has checked out. On the other hand, cozy Airbnbs and luxury resorts typically offer lower rates during the week, and charge handsomely over the weekends due to hike in demands.

Sign up for a loyalty program to get free WiFi

At several hotel chains, you can avoid paying a daily fee for in-room WiFi by signing up for their loyalty program.